Royal Holloway Appoints New Senior Vice-Principal

Professor Ken Badcock has been appointed as Royal Holloway’s Senior Vice-Principal (Academic Strategy, Partnerships and Resources) and he will join the College in October 2018. As part of the College Executive team, reporting to the Principal, Ken will be responsible for developing and disseminating our academic strategy, renewing our commitment to academic excellence and inspiring individuals to succeed. He will lead on the strategy for the growth of the College in terms of research success, teaching excellence and increasing student numbers, capitalising on the significant investment we are making in both infrastructure and to enhance the student experience.

In the role, Ken will work closely with members of Council, staff and students to develop an institutional strategy, supported by academic development and estate development plans and other operational plans. Ken’s role will provide leadership and oversight of high-level strategic academic planning and ensure the alignment of resources to that plan as part of the Executive Team.

Ken joins Royal Holloway from the University of Liverpool where he has held the role of Executive Pro Vice-Chancellor, Science & Engineering, since 2013. He was Head of the School of Engineering for three years prior to that, having joined the University as Professor of Computational Aerodynamics in 2005. Previously, Ken was in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Glasgow.

Welcoming Ken’s appointment, Paul Layzell, Principal, said: ‘Ken brings with him a breadth of experience and will strengthen the science background of the senior team. His expertise in international partnerships will also be invaluable as we formulate and deliver our strategic objectives.’

Talking about his appointment Ken said: ‘I am honoured to be appointed and I am very much looking forward to meeting staff and students from across the College community. Royal Holloway has strong departments across the range of academic disciplines, and the prospect of working with senior management, academic and professional service colleagues to further our education, research and impact on society is an exciting one.’